The shipping process used by the food industry, as well as other industries, includes heavy duty carts with couplers that enable the carts to be joined in tandem Product may be stored in a warehouse covering a great expanse. When an order comes in from a buyer, a warehouse worker will pick the order; i.e., move about the numerous aisles of the warehouse obtaining each of the items and quantities listed in the order.
So as to economize the efforts of the worker, several orders from one or more buyers may be picked simultaneously by the worker. The worker will move about the warehouse with several carts coupled together, depending on the size and number of the orders. The carts may be pulled by a fork lift or the like. Each cart is usually loaded only with product to be delivered to the same destination.
After the orders have been picked, the carts are loaded onto a shipping means such as a trailer. Upon reaching the delivery destination, the carts are used to transport the product throughout the delivery destination for unloading. The empty carts are loaded back onto the trailer and returned to the warehouse.
The problems presented by this shipping process are that the shipping means has both weight and space limitations, yet the carts must be constructed with sufficient size and weight to pull heavy product loads about the warehouse. Additionally, many delivery destinations have space limitations which make it difficult to maneuver the carts when the product is being unloaded. Moreover, the coupling mechanisms of the carts are subject to being damaged during the delivery phase, and as a result require frequent maintenance.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a product delivery system that is compact, is light weight, and requires low-maintenance.